Necessity
by Acolyte of Truth
Summary: Naruto wasn't hated growing up. Instead, he had many opertunities to grow. He is now a sucessful shinobi with his own team, teaching them from his own mistakes to honor a friend. He just wish the kids honored his philosophy of necessity. AU, OCs, Darkness


Disclaimer: I own only this stories plot and original characters. Everything else is free game. This is also just a preview chapter. For more info, read the note at the bottom or the poll in my profile.

Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Day

The streets of Konoha were bustling with activity this early morning. And why not? The sun was bright and shinning down on the general populace of the village. It was neither too hot, yet it gave enough glowing warmth that people could comfortably wear sorts and tee-shirts if they wanted.

There was a pleasant, gentle breeze for people who just wanted to relax and perhaps watch the few clouds in the sky float by without a care in the world. Or, maybe they could go out and view the native animals of the village, such as colourful birds and furry squirrels and chipmunks.

Of course, the village elite found this day to do something else. It was a lovely day for training, and any shinobi would be a fool to pass it up. Strangely enough, there were very few missions available, giving many shinobi the chance to take the day of and do the previously mentioned. And, due to the village's booming economy, it wasn't adversely effected by the lack of mission.

Yes, the day seemed idyllic. However, for a select few, the day was about to get better. "Hey! Watch it!" yelled a man as a small kid rudely bumped into him. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the kid's spike blonde hair and distinguishing whisker marks. Yes, despite being only the tender age of seven, Uzumaki had already made quite a name for himself, and not due to the sealed within him. No, the child had become infamous for his pranks on the people of Konoha.

"Sorry!" Naruto yelled back, a large smile on his face. The man also thought he saw the boy carrying something large in his hands, causing the man the tilt his head inquisitively. He didn't have much time to think, though, as the boy was quickly of, bumping into more people and quickly apologizing afterward. The man just shook his head at the child antics.

Contrary to popular belief, most people in Konoha could see the innocence shimmering in the child's eyes. The shear joy that only a small kid could possess. Many people quickly realized that the demon sealed inside of Naruto had little to no affluence on him, and let the child be. However, a few decided to be assholes and make the child's life hell, first by managing to get him kicked out of the orphanage he used to live in and placing him in a home located in the slums of the village.

The man's thoughts on the boy were quickly cut off when someone else bumped into him, this time a man, wearing a grease stained apron. "Hey, stop! Thief!" the man hurried after the child, trying to get back whatever was stolen from him. However, he was bumping into a lot more people, eliciting many more annoyed and startled shouts.

Eventually, he ran into a man dirtier than him. He held a shocked look in his eyes at being ran into and quickly grabbed the angered man by the shoulders. "Oh, I'm so sorry. That was all my fault. I should have watched where I was going."

"Y-yeah, that's great. Fine," said the shop owner, trying to look around the dirty man and get out of his grasp to look for Naruto. "Hey, could you let me go? I-I need to do something."

"Wait, are you sure you're okay?" the dirty man asked, concern in his eyes. The other man had almost managed to get away, but his arm was grabbed by the apologetic man.

"For the last time, I'm fine!" the man kept diverting his glance from the man to the large crowd in search of Naruto. Finally, he pried his hand away, and found himself stumbling at the lack of resistance. He quickly looked for the child, but couldn't find him. Enraged he turned to yell at the dirty man, only to find him gone. He never saw him slip into a nearby alleyway.

/

It wasn't long after his escape that Naruto's little legs carried him back to his apartment. However, he didn't go inside the complex. Instead, he continued walking to an alleyway just around the corner. He smiled tiredly to the seven people already situated there, who cheered at his arrival, especially seeing what he had brought.

"Nice going back there, kid." the blonde boy turned at the voice with a shit eating grin on his face. There, panting from the run he had just gone threw, was the dirty man who had distracted the shop owner.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. You helped," said Naruto, a bit embarrassed from the praise.

"Nonsense, that was all you. You woulda' gotten away from that prick eventually, I just made it easy for ya'." The man clapped Naruto on the back in affection. While the two were talking, the other people, just as dirty as the man, had gotten a small fire started. Seeing this, the man continued, "Now c'mon, let's see what you got and get cookin'."

Naruto only too happily unveiled his package, covered in wax paper. The boy quickly undid the paper, ignoring the crinkling sound, and unveiled what he had stolen. There was a huge hunk of meat, which Naruto quickly handed over to be cooked. Among that, there was also several loaves of bread and various fresh fruits. Naruto and the man joined the small circle, and the group quickly divided the latter two products up evenly among themselves and started to eat ravenously.

Meanwhile, everyone was sharing the same feelings. They were with their own. They were all family in all but name and blood. They treated each other with respect and kindness for nothing in return, and everyone did what they needed to sustain their family. They were the one's no one wanted, the one's society didn't exactly look down upon, but didn't want much to do with. But all of them wanted to be with each other, and that's all that mattered.

The small feast was suddenly interrupted when another presence made itself known. "Well, it looks like you guys are having fun."

Everyone turned around, only too see a hooded black figure leaning again the wall, an ivory owl mask standing in stark contrast to the rest of him. It was an ANBU agent. Normally, people lived in fear of this secret guard of the village, as they usually only made themselves know in the most dire of situations when village security was involved. However, everyone just smiled at the man.

The man who had helped Naruto at the market, the apparent leader of the group, was the first to greet the man. "Welcome Taiki-san. Feel like joinin' us? We got plenty ta go around."

"Not today, thanks," the man replied in good nature. If it seemed he didn't care that he knew the food was stolen, it was because he didn't. He knew everyone here, and knew that they were good people who got dealt a bad hand somewhere in life. While no one in the village of Konoha was homeless, there was poverty and people who couldn't get all their need met. The group in front of him was one of those few, and Taiki believed in doing what was necessary to live and survive. Hell, he helped them to get foo a few times. "Actually, I'm here for Naruto, do you mind?"

"Not at all.," said the man. Then, he turned to the boy and said, "Don't worry, we'll save some meat for ya'."

"You better," said Naruto playfully. With that, he got up and followed closely behind Taiki out to the street.

/

A pair of crystal-blue eyes shot open as the last vestiges of the dream faded. Despite the weariness still evident in them, the owner had a small smile on his face. That was in part because he knew that today was the start of a new chapter in his life, and in part because of the nice dream he had had. Despite the latter, though, he had found the dream a bit weird. He hadn't dreamed of something like that for a few years. Regardless, it was nice.

However, there was a deeper side to that smile. The small curvature of the lips held sadness and pain in them, something one got only through experiencing loss.

With that, the blonde man finally got out of bed. This was Uzumaki Naruto ten years later. At the age of seventeen, he had accomplished much. He had become a fine shinobi in his relatively short career. He was one of the first to become a jounin in his age group. He had managed to nearly eliminate a terrorist organization threatening the world, but instead a lone member remained after a full-scale war, most likely plotting his revenge.

And there was a darker side to the blonde. Over the years, he had earned a reputation of being somewhat ruthless, a shinobi willing to go to great lengths to ensure the villages safety, whether that meant taking missions no one else wanted, or doing whatever necessary to ensure completion. In the village, a bit of apprehension always seemed to surround him. However, above all of this, there was talk about him being the next hokage.

However, before that happened, there was something the blonde still needed to do, more of a tradition than a requirement. He needed to take on a team and teach them the way of the world. And he was glad about that. He could still remember his younger years, and hoped to make happy memories with his new students. True, he had his eyes set on one kid in particular, more to honor a friend than anything, but if he didn't get him, that would still be fine.

Those thoughts in mind, Naruto got ready for the big day. Less than fifteen minutes later, he was out his door, dressed in simple shinobi pants, a sleeveless grey top, and all of his tools, his headband worn in dignity, off on his journey. True, he had forty-five minutes before he was to meet his team, but he had a few stops to make first. As he walked, he thought back to where his dream had left off.

/

"What's going on, Taiki-san?" asked Naruto, curious as to where his 'guardian angle', as he had been dubbed by his group, was taking him. The blonde was now nestled securely in the ANBU agent's arms as he jumped across the rooftops to his destination.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Taiki. At the shake of Naruto's head, the masked man just sighed. Sometimes, Naruto could just be so dense. "Well, seeing as I know you've been avoiding the hospital for over a week for your lessons, I figured I'd deliver you to Yakasu myself."

at hearing that, Naruto blanched, his eyes growing wide as he struggled in Taiki's grasp. Looking forward, he could see that, without a doubt, the duo were headed right for the hospital. With that, Naruto redoubled his efforts of escape. But, it was futile, and both parties knew it. With that realization, Naruto attempted to talk his way out of this.

"Why do I have to go see that damn Yakasu-baka? Is this really necessary?"the child attempted to play off of Taiki's code of contact by using necessary in his objection. And at first, it seemed to work, as Taiki slowed down and seemed to ponder. However, he was just getting Naruto's hopes up.

"It is necessary if you want to become a good shinobi, as good shinobi are well-versed in many skills, and I know you want to be a good shinobi. Besides, what's so long with Yakasu-san?"

"He's so boring," said Naruto, annoyed with this already. "I mean, there's absolutely no flair to his presentations, and his tone is so monotonous that I swear I've fallen asleep with my eyes open more than a few times."

despite himself, Taiki chuckled a bit at Naruto's criticism of the doctor. "That, may be true, Yakasu-san is pretty boring, but you can't deny that you're leaning some good material." Naruto was silent after that, so Taiki decided to demonstrate. "Quick, what's the only human organ that naturally regenerates?"

"The liver," Naruto replied automatically. He then cursed, seeing that he had just thrown away his last chance of freedom. "Damnit." With that, he huffed and let Taiki just carry him to the destination.

The man wasn't without a heart, though, and tried to figure out a way to make his young charge feel better about his situation. "Tell you what," he began, catching the moping boy's attention, "you be good for Yakasu-san, I'll let you come over and see Haruki-kun later today. Deal?"

At hearing the name of Taiki's year-old son, Naruto perked up. "You promise?" asked Naruto, being sure to inflect his so it came out as child-like as possible. There was a small chuckle as Taiki nodded. Naruto gave a small, excited, "Yes!" at that. He really liked Haruki, and knew that he would be a good person if his father was anything to go by.

It wasn't long after before, Taiki dropped into the hospital via a fourth story window into an office. To the doctors credit, he didn't even look marginally shocked by the entrance. "Ahh, Amami-san, I see you brought Uzumaki-san here." actually, Yakasu hadn't actually seen that, in fact, he hadn't looked up from his paperwork at all since the two had entered.

"I see you're bust as always, eh, Yakasu-san," Taiki greeted. The brown-haired man nodded before he finally placed down his pen and regarded the two.

"You can leave the brat in my hands now. We have a bit of catching up to do." Naruto groaned as Taiki ruffled the child's hair.

"Of course. Just try to go easy on the kid, alright?"

"No promises." With that, Taiki exited the same way he entered, leaving Naruto and Yakasu in an awkward silence. It prevailed for a few seconds before Naruto finally broke it.

"So, nice day we're having, huh?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't left this office for the past seventeen hours."

"Oh. Dude, you need to get laid."

/

Yes, those were some fond memories, memories Naruto treasured with his life. However, if he had known back then, he would have made more with his precious people. It wasn't long after that that Taiki was sent on a mission and was killed in the line of duty, mere weeks from his son's third birthday. It was at that moment that Naruto came to his first destination; Konoha's memorial stone.

The blonde solemnly walked up to the stone, his face devoid of emotion. That was because he knew that if he made the slightest move, the tears would start to flow. It happened every time. For a while, he just stared at the stone, before he finally broke down and cracked a sad smile. Sure enough, the tears soon followed.

"Hey guys, it's Naruto again." the blonde continued staring at the stone, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He thought that focusing on the stone helped him better communicate. "So, I'm finally getting my team today. Bet you two never saw that coming. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit surprised myself." at this point, Naruto's voice warbled before it just cracked, not being able to take the stress anymore. "It doesn't matter though. You guy's were the best friends I've ever had. I promise to teach them what you've taught me, regardless of who is assigned to me. I swear I'll make you proud, Taiki-sensei, Kakashi-sensei."

suddenly, Naruto felt a hand clamp his shoulder. Turning around, he found Yakasu standing there. Over the years, he had buried himself further into his work and rarely left his office. His short, brown hair was a little less than half grey, and large black bags were under his eyes. "You should go," he said finally, "I'll say good bye for you."

"Thanks," was all Naruto said, before he composed himself and set off to meet his team, that last promise still echoing in his head.

/

This is just a sample chapter for a poll in my profile. As you can see, it's actually two stories in one; one telling Naruto's rise to where he his, and the other the exploits of his new team. It is also AU, as you can hopefully tell. It will pick up with Naruto meeting his new team, and, yes, one of them will be Haruki. If you liked it, you should check out the other candidates. Note that you make pick your favorite three. Also note that none of them will be continued until Natural biotic gets stared on Mass Effect 2. I believe that's it. Acolyte out!


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